Figure 1.
Viral-mediated GABAAR α4 subunit knockdown in NAc shell decreases instrumental responding for ethanol. Rats were infused in the NAc shell with Ad-shα4 (n = 12) or Ad-NSS (n = 12) bilaterally. For panels a–c, data for Ad-shα4-treated rats are expressed as a percentage of Ad-NSS-treated rats at the same timepoint. (a) Responding on the active lever is decreased 18 days after Ad-shα4 infusion. *P < 0.05, compared to baseline (B). (b) Inactive lever responding was not affected. (c) Estimated ethanol intake (g/kg) was decreased 18 days after Ad-shα4 infusion. *P < 0.05, compared to baseline. (d, e) Time course of active lever responses (d) and estimated ethanol intake (e) over days 5–30 after virus infusion depicts the decrease in responding after Ad-shα4, followed by a recovery of responding at day 24. For all panels, ‘B’ refers to baseline, the average of last 3 days prior to virus infusion. Values depict mean +/− SEM